Reliance Industries Limited
Founder Shri Dhirubhai H. Ambani (1932-2002)
Key People Shri Mukesh D. Ambani Chairman &
Managing Director
Headquarters Mumbai, India
Revenue Group's annual revenues are in excess of
US$44 billion
Subsidiaries Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL),
Reliance Petroleum, Network 18
Roles Offered General Management & Treasury
Product offerings
The company operates in the following major segments:
Exploration and production,
Refining and marketing,
Petrochemicals
Retail
Textiles
Telecommunications.
Evolution Strategy
Backward vertical integration has been the cornerstone of the evolution and growth of
Reliance. Starting with textiles in the late seventies, Reliance pursued a strategy of backward
vertical integration - in polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics, petrochemicals, petroleum
refining and oil and gas exploration and production - to be fully integrated along the materials
and energy value chain.
Values
Reliance believes that any business conduct can be ethical only when it rests on the nine core
values of Honesty, Integrity, Respect, Fairness, Purposefulness, Trust, Responsibility, Citizenship
and Caring. The essence of these commitments is that each employee conducts the company's
business with integrity, in compliance with applicable laws, and in a manner that excludes
considerations of personal advantage. Reliance does not lose sight of these values under any
circumstances, regardless of the goals they have to achieve. To them, the means are as
important as the ends.
Company History (Key Moments)
1957: Dhirubhai Ambani returns to India after a stint with A. Besse and Co. (Aden), a trading
and oil bunkering port. He begins a yarn business from a 500 square feet office in Masjid
Bunder, Mumbai. Diversifying into fabrics, Ambani sets up a mill in Narora, Gujarat.
1966: Within a decade, Reliance's aggressive strategies and persistence catapult it to among the
top positions in the industry with its 'Only Vimal' brand taking on the might of Bombay Dyeing,
the flagship brand of the powerful Wadia business family.
1977: Mr Ambani discovers the stock markets and millions of small shareholders discover
Reliance. Reliance Industries launches its initial public offering on the Bombay Stock Exchange
with unprecedented success—the issue is oversubscribed seven times and India discovers a
new business ownership model.
1982: The group is hungry for more success now, and Reliance begins backward integration.
Elder son Mukesh is entrusted with the task and begins by overseeing the first phase of a
polyester filament yarn in Patalganga, Maharashtra. Younger son Anil joins the business in
1983.
1985: Reliance Industries' assets cross the Rs 1,000 crore mark, and three years later, its sales
hit the mark at Rs 1,788 crore.
1996: Reliance becomes the first private sector company to be rated by international credit
rating agencies. S&P rates BB+, stable outlook, constrained by the Sovereign Ceiling. Moody's
rated Baa3, investment grade. Net profit crosses Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 1,065 crore or $338 million).
2001: Reliance Industries and Reliance Petroleum become India's largest companies.
2002: Reliance announces India's biggest gas discovery -- at the Krishna-Godavari basin -- in
nearly three decades and one of the largest gas discoveries in the world during 2002. The in-
place volume of natural gas is in excess of 7 trillion cubic feet, equivalent to about 1.2 billion
barrels of crude oil.
2004: In November 2004, Mukesh Ambani, in an interview, admitted to having differences with
his brother Anil over 'ownership issues'. He also said that the differences "are in the private
domain". He said it would not have a bearing on the business, adding that Reliance is one of the
strongest professionally-managed companies.
2005: After a bitter public feud between the brothers over the control of the Reliance Empire,
mother Kokilaben intervenes to broker a deal splitting the business into two.
2006: The split is formalized. Mukesh gets Reliance Industries and IPCL. Younger brother Anil
gets telecom, power, entertainment and financial services. The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
includes Reliance Communications, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Capital, Reliance Natural
Resources and Reliance Power. That very year, Reliance Industries becomes India's first private
sector enterprise to cross $2 billion profit mark. It forays into the retail sector.
2010: Reliance and BP announce a partnership in the oil and gas business. BP takes a 30 per
cent stake in 23 oil and gas production sharing contracts that Reliance operates in India,
including the KGD6 block, and the formation of a joint venture (50:50) for sourcing and
marketing gas in India.
2011: Revenue crosses Rs 2,50,000 crore mark (Rs. 2,58,651 crore, US$ 58.0 billion) and net
profit crosses Rs 20,000 crore mark (Rs 20,286 crore, US$ 4.5 billion).
Various Service Offerings
1) Reliance Petrochemicals
Notable Achievements
Domestic Leadership in Petrochemicals
World's Largest Producer of Polyester Fibre and Yarn
Fifth largest producer of PP and PX in the world
Ninth largest producer of PTA
India's largest and world's eighth largest producer of MEG
India's largest manufacturer of Synthetic Rubber
2) Reliance Textiles
Reliance’s Manufacturing Division at Naroda, Ahmedabad is one of the largest and most
modern textile complexes in the world. The Company’s flagship brand VIMAL is one of the most
trusted brands of premium textiles in the country. Main growth drivers for VIMAL are retail
presence across India, innovation and focus on premium products and men’s formal wear.
3) Reliance Retail
With a vision to generate inclusive growth and prosperity for farmers, vendor partners, small
shopkeepers and consumers, Reliance Retail Limited (RRL), a subsidiary of RIL, was set up to
lead Reliance Group’s foray into organized retail. Since its inception in 2006, Reliance Retail
Limited (RRL) has grown into an organisation that caters to millions of customers, thousands of
farmers and vendors. Based on its core growth strategy of backward integration, RRL has made
rapid progress towards building an entire value chain starting from the farmers to the end
consumers.
4) Reliance Exploration & Production
Exploration and production, the initial link in the energy and materials value chain, remains a
major growth area and Reliance envisions evolving as a global energy major.
Indian gas market
In India, gas constitutes around 10% of the current energy basket compared to the global
average of 24% and hence presents a vast potential for growth. The demand for natural gas in
India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% over the next five years and could soon be a
significant player in the global gas market.
RIL - BP partnership
On February 21, 2011, RIL and BP announced a strategic partnership between the two
companies and signed the relationship framework and transactional agreements. The
partnership across the full value chain comprises BP taking a 30% stake in 23 oil and gas
production sharing contracts that. Reliance operates in India, including the producing KG-D6
block. The partnership will aim to combine BP's deep-water exploration & development
capabilities with Reliance's project management & operations expertise. The two companies
will also form a joint venture (50:50) for the sourcing and marketing of gas in India and bid
together for incremental opportunities in the deep-water blocks in the east coast of India.
International business
During the year, Reliance entered into one of the fastest growing opportunities emerging in the
U.S. unconventional gas business through three upstream joint ventures. These joint ventures
will materially increase Reliance's resources base and provide Reliance with an entirely new
platform to grow its exploration and production business while simultaneously enhancing its
ability to operate unconventional resource projects in the future.
RIL – Chevron
RIL – Pioneer
RIL – Carrizo
5) Reliance Petroleum Refining & Marketing
Petroleum Refining and retailing is the second link in RIL's drive for growth and global
leadership in the core energy and materials value chain. RIL has 1.24 million barrels per day
(MBPD) of crude processing capacity, the largest at any single location in the world
Performance review
RIL processed 66.6 million tonnes of crude and achieved an average utilization of 107%, which is
significantly higher than the average utilization rates for refineries globally. Exports of refined
products were at $29.3 billion. This accounted for 38.6 million tonnes of product as compared
to 32.8 million tonnes the previous year.
Strategy and outlook
Reliance is best positioned to capture top decile margins as a result of processing cheaper,
heavier crudes and benefitting from low operating costs. Built in the last decade, the RIL
refineries are state-of-the-art and among the most complex refineries in the world. Strategically
located on the west coast of India, it benefits from low transportation costs for its feedstock
and also from its proximity to the high-growth markets of Asia. From a product slate
perspective, the refineries have been designed to produce higher quantities of middle distillate
products like diesel and jet-kero and also ultra-clean fuels that provide it the potential for
higher refining margins.
Recent News
Reliance Industries Ltd has received the delivery of world's first very large ethane
carrying ships that will be used for ferrying the fuel from the US.
S&P said RIL's spending of Rs 13,700 crore on the spectrum purchase was much higher
than anticipated and reflects focus on meeting growth in data with adequate capacity
Mukesh Ambani retains India's top businessman list for 9th year with networth at $22.7
billion: Forbes
Reliance Jio 4G services launch
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) was ranked 8th this year, improving from 14 position a year
ago and being among the top 10 of the 250 global energy businesses in a new survey by
'Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings 2016'
Reliance Industries, operator of the world's biggest oil-refining complex, has forayed
into cooking gas retailing, launching a four kilogram LPG cylinder on a pilot basis
